Best Time To Travel To: Saint Vincent And the Grenadines

St. Vincent and the Grenadines form a group of Leeward Islands archipelago in the Lesser Antilles.

The main island is St. Vincent. This island is quite mountainous. It rains more here than on the islands of the Grenadines. Basically, all islands receive rain all year round. Most comes down normally in the June to November phase. During this time, the region is also at risk of storms.

For the Caribbean, tropical cloud formations are important, which form off the coast of Africa every three days. These then bring clouds and rain to the Caribbean. Depending on the density of these clouds, it often rains for a maximum of two hours at a time - or there are several very short showers. The tropical clouds generally have a high storm potential.

However, St. Vincent and the Grenadines are on the southern edge of the hurricane belt. Seen in this way, the hurricane events are rather rare here. Most recently e.g. in 1955, 1980, 1987 and 1998/1999 there were significant storms.

The climate in St. Vincent and the Grenadines is broadly in line with the Caribbean destinations of the region. The temperatures are warm all year round and fluctuate between 20 to 30 degrees. Due to the trade winds, it rarely seems very hot, and the actually high humidity is also quite bearable. The warmest months are usually March and April. The coldest month is January, with an average of 20 to 25 ° C. From January to May one can speak of a dry season in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

As I said, there is precipitation all year round. It rains more in the mountainous regions of the main island of St. Vincent than in the flatter regions. The average amount of precipitation in the lowlands of St. Vincent is around 1,700mm, while that for the mountainous regions is at least 7,000mm on average. The drier Grenadines, which receive an average of only about 460mm per year, form a rather sharp contrast.

A change in the climate has also been observed on St. Vincent. In 2007, Antonio Joyette reported a tendency towards higher rain inclination even in the so-called dry season. The strong trend towards deforestation is also having a negative impact on the climate. Joyette came to the conclusion that both the minimum and maximum temperatures have increased over the past 28 years. In 2007 the result was that the lower temperatures range between 18.8 and 21.2 ° C and the average maximum temperatures are now between 32.7 and 33.2 ° C.

The trade winds make the temperatures and humidity appear more pleasant. In the course of global warming, this effect naturally decreases more and more. The wind tendency is a little stronger in the hurricane season from June to November. Stronger wind phases after Christmas, the Christmas Winds, are also typical for the region. They can keep popping up until February.

When is the best time to visit St. Vincent and the Grenadines?

The best time for St. Vincent and the Grenadines is usually given as the dry season from January to May, especially the period from January to March. However, opinions on the best time to travel to St. Vincent differ a little. An interesting point is the noticeable drop in prices in the rainy season from June to December. Seen in this way, the phase can be worthwhile, especially since St. Vincent and the Grenadines are comparatively seldom hit by hurricanes. When it rains, it is usually short and strong, but less often over long periods. In principle, one should also take into account that the main island of St. Vincent receives more rain than the Grenadines (e.g. Mustique, Bequia, Palm Island). For the Grenadines in particular, the phase from June to December could be very interesting. But there is no guarantee of good weather (e.g. Christmas 2013 war very rainy).